Before I Go to Sleep

Every morning Christine wakes up with her memory wiped clean. Some days she can remember her twenties, some days she's still a child. She wakes up next to a man she does not know in a room she doesn't recognise. When a doctor approaches her wishing to study her amnesia she starts a journal. He phones her each day to tell her of its existence. Underneath her name she has written “DON'T TRUST BEN”.

It's been some time since I've read a book that I really don't want to put down. I stayed up later reading it and was frustrated when my lunch break ended just as the climax was approaching. It truly is a gripping read. At first I felt for Christine's husband, Ben. To have to live with the woman you love and not be recognised. To have to explain her life to her each day and deal with her grief and confusion is heartbreaking. Then those words in her journal, her advice not to trust him, arouses suspicion and he starts to seem too good to be true.

The mystery is Christine's missing memory. The crime is the event which caused it. Whilst I had a pretty good idea of what was going on about midway, it's not obvious and the need to be proved right and to find out what happens to Christine, will keep you reading at a brisk pace!

Her situation is truly terrifying and it is an unsettling read. Memory is what makes us us. The doctor does explain she is a rare case but for those that are sceptical a quick google will reveal numerous accounts of amnesia suffers, some with hard to believe conditions. In his author's note, SJ Watson mentions two real life cases that he based Christine's condition on, Clive Wearing and Henry Gustav Molaison, and the accounts of her early days are clearly drawing from these. However the fact that she can remember whole days appears to be a plot device rather thank something well documented but the mind is a mysterious thing so it could easily be possible. I think if you can just accept her condition, you will be transfixed by this fantastic debut novel.

I was recommending this book by one of my trusty Goodreads friends and while I wasn’t too sure about it I decided to give it a go. I was thinking this would be a book similar to 50 First Dates but what I go was a book that reminded me more of Memento. Before I Go to Sleep tells the story of Christine Lucas, who is trying to piece back her life after suffering an accident that has caused her to have anterograde amnesia. Chrissy can remember everything that happens to her during the day but as soon as she goes into a deep sleep, her brain goes into delete mode; resulting in Christine waking up next to a stranger. Her memories are not really all gone; her brain just can’t piece the images together.

This book is chilling; watching Christine write in her journal trying to piece together, everything she has missed in her life. The pieces don’t fix and she comes to realise that her life is a lot different that she thinks it is. Making this a gripping read with unexpected twists and turns to keep you reading into the early mornings. I’m really impressed that this is SJ Watson’s first novel; Before I Go to Sleep is an addictive read and masterfully written.

I would recommend this book to everyone one; it is a beautifully crafted book that takes you on a thrilling journey; fully of twists and turns. As far as a book is concerned, this one has it all; suspense, mystery, intrigue, sex, violence and romance. As was really impressed by this book and while have to listen to my friend in the future when it comes to book recommendations. Go out and read this book as soon as you can; it sits in my top 5 read books of the read and probably in the top 2 for best books of 2011.